The game features a combat system with parries, blocks, and sidesteps. Using this system the player can utilize a wide array of weapons like swords, bows, or fighting staffs. Alternatively, the player can choose to play as a mage, combination of mage and fighter, or a pure fighter with limited access to magic through single-use scrolls.
Many skills are not available directly at the start of the game and have to be unlocked by expending "learning points" in the chosen skill. In addition to direct gameplay changes, unlocking skills has other minor aesthetic effects such as the player character using a different stance during combat. The game also has a system for professions and abilities, such as smithing and lock picking which are leveled up in the same way as the weapon skills—by expending points to level up in the specific profession.
Quests conversations are fully logged in a quest diary. Maps are available, along with "quest maps" on which objectives are marked. Non-player characters are voiced in English.
Risen has smaller areas that can't be accessed until later. Creatures do not respawn in the first part of the game, but do so in later parts. The island is also said to contain easter eggs.
An IGN reviewer wrote that Risen resembles the Gothic games in "the general ambiance of the world[,] the presentation, feel of gameplay, and style of exploration" but is more "user-friendly" than the "more hardcore Gothic games".